A new chapter is in the works for Big Hat Books, one of the city’s few independent bookstores.

The Broad Ripple store, which showcased numerous authors, is holding a moving sale today through Sunday, owner Elizabeth Houghton Barden said in an email sent to the store’s most devoted customers.

Details for future plans remain unclear, but Barden wrote that as her five-year lease came to an end, she decided it was “time for Big Hat Books to go ‘small.’ ”

Barden could not immediately be reached for comment.

Five years ago, Big Hat moved from its original home on East Westfield Boulevard to a 2,700-square-foot, two-story space at 6510 Cornell Ave. The store ­included a meeting space for author appearances and book parties.

In the email, Barden wrote that the past three years have been difficult for her. In August 2010, she was in a car accident, in which a driver ran a red light while texting, T-boning her vehicle.

“Hard as I’ve tried to put my best face forward since then, it’s taken the discreet efforts of some wonderful people to provide needed cover,” she wrote. “How lucky am I that despite the accident continuing to take its toll three-plus years later, you’ve kept coming and buying all those books. For that and so much more, I am forever grateful.”

While the email does not discuss specifics of what comes next, Barden promised customers that many people are working on another “iteration” of her vision.